Dundee councillors to consider changes to vulnerable people programme after report criticism

Dundee City Council will consider improvements to the protection of vulnerable children and adults after a report found some people were put at risk.

A transforming public protection programme is proposed to improve the work by the local authority and partner agencies to support people who cannot safeguard their own wellbeing.

A joint inspection of adult support and protection across six local partnerships, the first of its kind in Scotland, found services in Dundee had not done enough to identify and measure outcomes for adults at risk of harm.

The report described a “critical” need for improvement after inspectors found 43% of at-risk adults had not undergone a risk assessment and stated this was “not conducive to their safety”. It also found deficiencies in the partnership’s adult protection processes.

The services work with people aged 16 or over who cannot safeguard their wellbeing, property, rights or other interests, are at risk of harm or are vulnerable due to disability, mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity.

While the group was given an “adequate” rating, adult support and protection committee convener Elaine Torrance said there was “room for improvement identified, especially around processes and recording”.

Councillors will hear on Monday how the programme aims to ensure professional practices are consistently strong and that learning and development takes a higher priority.

Council leader John Alexander paid tribute to child and adult support services workers, whose leadership and strong knowledge were praised in the report.